Nokia Lumia 1020: Smartphone camera reinvented

The Nokia 808 PureView introduced a revolutionary smartphone camera technology to the world, but it always felt like bringing this innovation to the market alongside a dead OS was largely a wasted effort. Everyone loved the powerful camera, but no one fancied the Symbian-powered smartphone, especially when the fate of Symbian was perfectly clear. Naturally, the first question that came to everyone's mind after seeing the 808 PureView was "When are we going to see this camera on a Windows Phone handset?". Well, guess what - the wait is over, as Nokia has finally introduced the Lumia 1020 - the first Windows Phone smartphone equipped with Nokia's innovative 41 MP PureView camera!

This is your chance to learn all there is to learn about the Nokia Lumia 1020. What you'll find below is all the information you may wish to know about what's probably going to be the very best cameraphone this year. This time, however, Nokia's PureView-enabled smartphone isn't going to be a device for shutterbugs only. This time, those 41 megapixels are going to coexist with a contemporary operating system in Windows Phone 8, and while this may not be the default platform choice for smartphone aficionados these days, we can't admit that there's a lot of potential in those live tiles.

We can hardly see the Nokia Lumia 1020 becoming the people's champ when it comes to technical specifications, but you know what? That's perfectly OK with us, because we've noticed that the Windows Phone 8 OS doesn't need octa-core processors in order to perform smoothly. Here are some spec highlights for the Nokia Lumia 1020:

The 41 MP camera is the hallmark feature of the Nokia Lumia 1020, and we're telling you, folks, we can't wait to put our hands on this PureView shooter and compare it against the fearosome competition out there, including the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone 5. While we wait, however, why don't you acquaint yourselves with this innovative, high-resolution camera that promises to redefine smartphone photography!

Nokia and AT&T, which is going to be the exclusive provider of the Lumia 1020 in the US, have been somewhat generous when it comes to availability and pricing info. The latest PureView smartphone should be available across markets in the US, Europe and China as soon as this quarter, with AT&T shipping the Lumia 1020 on July 26. Prior to that, the most impatient users who want to secure their handsets will be able to do so via a pre-order starting July 16.

While we're yet to learn about the Lumia 1020's price internationally, AT&T has already announced that it'll be offering Windows Phone's finest with a premium price tag of $299.99 with a two-year contract, which is obviously a departure from the carrier's previous approach of positioning Nokia's Lumias at very aggressive price-points. During Nokia's unveiling of the Lumia 1020, the company's CEO, Stephen Elop, did note that the Lumia 1020 will be available through AT&T at first, suggesting that it might grace the line-ups of other US carriers later in the year.

the pureview was able to handle it without any hassle on a single-core and outdated os, with a lot of power to spare, it ain't android you know. S4 can't handle that powerful cam the way only nokia can, unless anyone wants either more gazillion lags or another reason to have another samsung blow up...again...

that seems true as their is no point to continue on this spec sheet with so much varity now and this will be intersting as this model will soon see huge price drop after the next genration phones are launched

Why should I waste my time rooting my phone? I can give that time to my wife and kids. I can have a few beers and watch tv. I can go to the gym, or enjoy a nice day/night. My point is the Droid life isn't for everyone. I pay $500 for the device so I don't have to be a programmer or write code.

hey whoyton. we had a little agreement about our further discussion but you can expand it toward the others as well. Let´s stop using this redneck language and be more polite otherwise this site will change into some sh*@hole even more.

The only thing impressive about this device is the camera, over a year old specs in every other department and you know Windows 8.1 with 1080p displays and quad core processors are just right around the corner. Not bashing this device, it's camera is very impressive and will be a joy for many camera lovers, but I can't justify spending 300 dollars on such old hardware on every other spec department when Microsoft is very known to NOT release major updates to previous gen devices.

You're right, the camera is the sole selling point of the 1020 over the much cheaper 920/925/928. But I don't think the 1020 is meant to be Nokia's flagship, just their flagship cameraphone. I'm sure the 'real' flagship Lumia will arrive this fall with the processor and screen upgrades you're looking for at a more competitive price. I doubt it will have the 41 MP camera though.

30.FlushGordon (unregistered)

Well, aren't phones usually $700-800 unlocked anyways? I know in the U.S if you buy electronics overseas they cost a lot more, a GS4 is over $700, same for an HTC One, over $800 if you want a 64 GB model. There's actually a pre-order for the 1020 on Negri Electronics, and it costs about the same ($735).

FlushBordom, you do have a right to your own opinion, but others feel differently about WP8, and they value having an intuitive UI more than flexibility or a greater number of apps. You cannot have everything, and Android sucks for speed especially - at the low end - and is both highly insecure and badly fragmented. Also, it lacks real Microsoft Office editing capability, and Outlook.

Android is only insecure when you download things outside of the Play Store, and fragmentation is a blown out issue. The majority of apps in the Play Store only require 2.3 and up, a small portion require 4.0, and only apps like DashClock require 4.2.

No consumers care about fragmentation as long as they can get the apps they want, which 98% of them can. I had to switch back to my old Mytouch 4G before when the screen on my GS2 shattered, I returned it and had to wait for my replacement, but the Mytouch 4G is on 2.3. I had no compatibility issues with any of my apps on 2.3, which means the vast majority of consumers probably don't as well. Based on the last report of Android version distribution, that means 95.3% of consumers can get the apps they want. It's not an issue.

Android does have it's advantages, but then so does WP8 OS, and it's users virtually never have to worry about any viruses or spyware. Also, the lower end Lumia 520 is able to run circles around it's nearest Android competitors, due to WP8 OS being able to run faster with less resources. It is also true that fragmentation is an issue for Android, but that issue doesn't exist for WP8 device users. Finally, there are at least 160,000 Apps available for WP8 now, and while that number may pale in comparison to Android or iOS, most people will have no problem adjusting to the software available on the Microsoft side of things. The number of apps should not be a reason for failing to switch if you value having a smartphone with a better camera. It's the QUALITY of software that matters, and 75 percent of the apps on Android are complete and utter junk. There is a reason why they are free to download, and many have not even been fully tested or scrutinized before they are listed on Google's playstore, which is why there is such a huge problem with malware and spyware.

"Of the 51,447 examples of malware discovered by the security firm last quarter, only 146 came from the Google Play store. That means that the main source for apps for most users only was found to have 0.5% of all the malware found. Sure, if you're living in China and using a bootleg non-Google Android device, and constantly sideloading apps, you may be at a higher risk."

As for performance, I have always given WP credit for being the smoothest OS out there. Hopefully Google will be able to make low end device work well on Android with 5.0 KLP, which is said to run smoothly on 512 MB of RAM.

75% of apps being "junk" on the Play Store is MAJORLY over exaggerated. I have not come across a single app that hasn't served me well in my extensive use of Android. I'm sure there are crappy apps out there, but they are very hard to come by.

Yes, WP8 users don't have to worry about being left behind on updates, for now at least. When WP picks up speed in the market, more manufacturers will make devices with it, and there will be more and more devices running WP to take care of with updates, but a lot will inevitably get left behind. It's the downfall of open source.

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